New English school in Saint-Lin-Laurentides breaks ground

New English school breaks ground A ground-breaking ceremony held Monday kick-started construction on a new English elementary school in Saint-Lin-Laurentides

A ground-breaking ceremony held Monday kickstarted construction on a new English elementary school in Saint-Lin-Laurentides, about 50 kilometres north of Montreal.

The school is expected to welcome up to 384 students when it opens in September 2024.

Located on 9th Avenue, it will have 16 classrooms, two sensory rooms, a double gymnasium, a library and a playground.

It’s a much-needed addition to a region dealing with overcrowding, according to the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board.

As home prices rise in Montreal, more people have been moving north. The area’s population increased by seven per cent between 2016 and 2021.

"This is not only a significant milestone for our school board, but it also speaks to the growth and vitality of the English-speaking community," board chairperson Paolo Galati said in a release on Monday, adding the community has waited a long time for this school.

Saint-Lin-Laurentides Mayor Mathieu Maisonneuve said having more young Anglophones in the town will only enrich the community.

Judith Beaupre, who has two children in an English school, agrees.

"French people are fighting a lot to keep their French, so I guess for English people, it’s the same thing. It’s all about community," she told CTV News.

The school board says it will post updates on its website and communicate with families as the project progresses.

The Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board is the third-largest English school board in Quebec, covering the regions of Laval, Laurentides and Lanaudiere.

The board says this is the first English school built in the area in over a decade.

The provincial government has spent $35.7M on the project.

-With files from CTV's Rob Lurie and Amanda Kline